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11  11  LIBRARY 
.  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


SPEECH 

OF 

REV.  L.  T.  CHAMBERLAIN, 


AT  THE  MASS  MEETING, 

7A  Me  COIi MICK  HALL, 

Chicago,  May  3,  1875  * 


It  will  be  remembered  that  during  the  week  following  the  so-called 
election  of  April  23d,  in  which  the  city  was  to  decide  for  or  against  its 
reincorporation  under  the  Act  known  as  “AThe  General  Incorporation 
Act  of  1872,”  a  Call  of  the  following  purport  was  put  in  circulation: — 

THE  CALL. 


To  the  Citizens  and  Legal  Voters  of  Chicago ,  irrespective  of  Party  or 
Nationality : 

Gentlemen: — It  is  abundantly  proved  that  the  Election  of  the  23d 
instant  was  carried  by  means  of  the  grossest  and  most  unblushing  frauds. 
In  many  of  the  wards,  such  scenes  were  witnessed  as  would  have  disgraced 
even  the  “Five  Points”  of  New  York.  The  requirements  of  good  order 
-  were  defiantly  disregarded.  The  express  terms  of  Statute  Law  were 
"  persistently  violated.  The  elective  Franchise  itself  was  made  a  mockery. 

'  The  claims  of  even  public  decency  were  openly  scorned..  The  disrep- 
"  utable  elements  of  the  city,  both  official  and  unofficial,  succeeded  in  their 
desperate  purpose,  and  the  reign  of  lawlessness  was  complete. 

The  result  is  not  only  that  a  plap  ,of  incorporation  has  been  fraudu¬ 
lently  forced  upon  us,  but  also  that  the  good  name  of  the  city  has  been 
scandalised,  and  the  very  foundations  of  popular  government  in  our  midst 
have  been  endangered.  We,  therefore,  in  behalf  of  the  interests  imperiled 
ft>  issue  this  call  for  a  Mass-Meeting  of  all  good  citizens,  to  be  held  in 


*  Published  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  20TII  Ward  Citizens’  Club. 


1050229 


2 


McCormick’s  Hall,  on  Monday  evening  next,  May  3d,  at  8  o’clock,  to 
protest  against  the  validity  of  a  result  consummated  by  such  fraud,  and 
to  take  such  organized  action  as  may  be  deemed  appropriate.  Let  all 
rally  for  the  rescue!  Let  us  unite  in  such  a  movement  as  shall  render 
impossible  a  repetition  of  the  recent  disgraces ! 

The  Call  received  the  signatures  of  hundreds  of  the  most  respected 
citizens,  and  although  the  weather  was  unfavorable  the  great  hall  was 
thronged.  The  meeting  having  been  called  to  order  by  Hon.  Julian  S. 
Rumsey,  a  permanent  organization  was  made,  with  N.  K.  Fairbank,  Esq., 
as  President.  Nearly  a  hundred  distinguished  gentlemen  were  appointed 
Vice-Presidents  and  occupied  seats  on  the  platform.  On  motion,  it  was 
voted  to  appoint  a  committee  of  seven  on  resolutions.  The  President 
appointed  as  that  committee:  Rev.  L.  T.  Chamberlain,  Hon.  Julian  S. 
Rumsey,  Hon.  John  M.  Arwidon,  Hans  Haerting,  Frank  Nowak,  John 
Comiskey,  Hermann  Lieb.  After  eloquent  speeches  by  Hon.  Sidney 
Smith,  and  Hon.  Thomas  Hoyne,  the  Committee  on  resolutions  reported 
through  their  Chairman 

THE  RESOLUTIONS. 

The  citizens  of  Chicago,  in  mass-meeting  assembled,  holding  that  the  sanctity  of 
the  ballot-box,  and  the  purity  of  elections,  are  foundations  upon  which  rest  the 
free  institutions  of  American  self-government,  do  declare  that  there  is  danger  of 
permanent  injury  to  the  rights  and  liberties  of  our  people  in  the  frauds  to  which 
this  city  has  been  subjected  during  recent  elections.  As  examples  of  such  frauds 
we  set  forth  the  following  :• — 

First — An  organized  conspiracy,  composed  of  the  worst  elements  of  our  popula¬ 
tion,  and  controlled  by  some  of  the  most  dangerous  and  unscrupulous  men  in  the 
city,  turned  the  recent  Town  Elections,  held  on  the  6th  day  of  April  last,  into  a 
scurrilous  farce;  and  it  is  but  the  manifest  truth  that,  in  those  elections,  there  was 
not  even  a  show  of  fairness  to  relieve  the  fraud  that  characterized  them. 

Second — In  the  vote  recently  taken  upon  the  adoption  or  rejection  of  the  General 
Incorporation  act  of  1872,  there  was  scarcely  any  honest  support  of  this  measure, 
and  yet  it  is  pretended  that  it  was  adopted  by  a  large  and  decisive  majority.  In 
this  election,  the  aforesaid  organized  gangs  of  “  repeaters,”  and  other  willing  tools 
for  the  corruption  of  the  franchise,  were  controlled  by  certain  unscrupulous  holders 
of  public  trusts;  men  who  so  far  forgot  their  solemn  obligations  to  the  people 
that,  for  their  own  continuance  in  power,  they  not  only  conspired  to  burden  the 
city  with  a  law  totally  unfit  as  a  basis  of  its  government,  but  also  formed  an  alli¬ 
ance  with  the  dangerous  and  disreputable  classes  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing 
by  fraud  what  they  knew  the  honestly-expressed  will  of  the  people  would  have  pre¬ 
vented.  It  is  a  fact  known  to  every  observing  citizen,  that  in  making  the  appoint¬ 
ments  for  this  election,  the  controlling  rings  in  the  Common  Council  and  other 
departments  of  the  City  Government,  did  everything  in  their  power  to  prevent  a 
fair  expression  of  the  real  desires  of  the  people. 


3 


It  is  further  known,  that  certain  judges  of  the  election  became  the  ready  instru¬ 
ments  of  those  corrupt  rings.  It  is  also  known,  that  the  election  was  carried  on 
without  regard  to,  and  in  direct  violation  of,  the  laws  of  this  State ;  and  the  evi¬ 
dence  is  now  fast  accumulating  before  an  investigating  committee  of  citizens,  which 
demonstrates  that  the  pretended  majority  was  the  result  of  the  most  infamous  elec¬ 
tion-fraud  ever  perpetrated  upon  American  soil. 

In  consideration  of  these  facts,  and  the  imminent  danger  to  the  prosperity  of  our 
city,  and  to  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  people,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  as  citizens  of  an  outraged  community,  do  hereby  solemnly  and 
emphatically  protest  against  the  election-frauds  perpetrated  upon  us,  and  that  we 
pledge  our  united  efforts  to  prevent  the  repetition  of  such  frauds  in  the  future. 

Resolved ,  That  we  heartily  approve  of  the  movement  of  the  Citizens’  Association 
and  of  others,  looking  to  the  prosecution  of  those  judges  of  election  and  other 
persons  guilty  of  the  recent  frauds,  and  that  we  heartily  second  the  efforts  they 
are  making  to  invoke  the  aid  of  our  courts  of  justice  in  preventing,  by  all  legal 
measures,  any  such  action  on  the  part  of  the  Common  Council  as  may  recognize 
or  give  effect  to,  results  consummated  by  such  fraudulent  means. 

Resolved,  That  we  ask  our  fellow-citizens  to  disregard  minor  differences  of  politi¬ 
cal  opinion,  and  to  unite,  without  reference  to  party  affiliation,  in  rescuing  the  vast 
and  important  interests  of  Chicago  from  the  power  of  the  disreputable  men  who 
now  hold  them  at  their  mercy. 

Resolved,  That  only  by  energetic,  thorough,  and  persevering  action  can  we  hope 
to  put  a  check  upon  the  evil  influences  which  now  control  the  city,  and  to  substitute 
therefor  a  government  organized  solely  with  a  view  to  honesty,  efficiency,  and  econ¬ 
omy  ;  and  that,  therefore,  we  recommend  a  speedy  and  thorough  organization  of 
citizens  in  each  of  the  different  wards  of  the  city,  similar  to  the  one  now  in  active 
operation  in  the  Twentieth  Ward,  and  the  creation  of  a  Central  Committee,  to  be 
composed  of  delegates  from  the  various  ward  organizations,  for  the  purpose  of  deter¬ 
mining  upon  further  concerted  action  for  the  best  interests  of  our  city. 

At  the  close  of  the  reading  of  the  resolutions,  Mr.  Chamberlain  spoke 
as  follows  : — 

Fellow-Citizens, — You  will  pardon  me,  I  trust,  if  in  support  of  the 
resolutions,  and  in  addition  to  what  you  have  already  heard,  I  still  call 
your  attention  to  the  precise  meaning  of  the  issue  before  us.  Certainly  in 
time  of  danger  there  is  need  of  clear-sightedness.  They  who  fight  without 
an  understanding  of  the  peril  they  confront,  fight  not  only  at  a  disadvan¬ 
tage  manifest  and  general,  but  at  a  disadvantage  which  relates  specifically 
to  both  the  methods  to  be  adopted  and  the  weapons  to  be  employed. 
Fellow-citizens,  we  cannot  comprehend  too  exactly,  nor  realize  too  vividly, 
the  nature  of  the  crisis  which  to-day  is  upon  us. 

I  take  it,  for  example,  that  one  incentive  which  has  gathered  us  in  public 
protest,  has  been  our  indignation  at  events  which  lay  on  the  very  surface 
of  that  Friday’s  doings.  For,  suppose  that  there  had  been  no  weighty 
issues  at  stake.  Suppose  that  for  a  comparatively  trivial  reason  the  inhabi¬ 
tants  of  Chicago  had  resorted  to  the  methods  of  an  election.  Yet,  even 
h  a  supposition,  the  honest  citizen  must  have  come  to  the  close  of 


4 


\ 


the  recent  election-day  with  feelings  of  righteous  anger.  I  venture  that  in 
his  very  instinct  of  self-respect,  his  natural  impulse  as  a  man,  he  must  have 
resented  the  deeds  which  then  were  witnessed  throughout  the  city.  [Ap¬ 
plause.]  An  election,  good  friends,  though  considered  at  its  lowest,  is 
nothing  less  than  a  sacred  agreement  to  which,  on  the  one  side  or  the 
other,  the  whole  community  is  party.  It  is  based  on  good  faith  between 
man  and  man.  It  proceeds  upon  the  clear  understanding  that  in  the  elec¬ 
tive  franchise  there  is  the  means  of  ascertaining  the  desires  of  those  who 
resort  to  it.  It  contains  the  pledge  that  when  any  legal  voter  goes  to  the 
polls  and  deposits  his  ballot,  that  ballot  shall  count  one  in  the  number  of 
bona  fide  votes.  The  very  idea  of  the  elective  procedure  is  that  of  a 
courteous,  open,  honest  summons  to  the  qualified  voter  to  make  known  his 
individual  choice.  Now  what,  fellow-citizens  of  Chicago,  did  you  find  to 
be  the  facts  as  touching  the  election  of  a  week  ago?  Why,  you  found,  in 
many  instances,  that  both  the  polling-places  and  the  ballot-boxes  had  been 
taken  possession  of  by  those  who  scoffed  at  the  requirements  of  fairness, 
and  laughed  the  dictates  of  courtesy  to  scorn.  You  found,  with  certain 
most  honorable  exceptions,  that  those  whose  previous  conduct  had  not 
inspired  you  with  confidence,  or  whose  crimes  had  forced  you  to  deem 
them  positively  disreputable,  had  assumed  to  control  methods  and  decide 
results.  You  found  yourselves  subjected  to  personal  indignities,  such  as 
might  almost  have  made  you  doubt  whether  there  were  such  realities  as. 
courtesy  and  good  faith  between  men.  The  air  of  more  than  one  voting- 
place  was  persistently  fouled  with  obscenity  and  oaths  by  those  who  openly 
lent  themselves  to  the  service  of  riot  instead  of  law.  And  all  that  even 
was  but  the  beginning  of  the  occasion  for  your  instinctive  wrath.  For 
you  found  when  all  was  over,  that  your  very  votes  had  been  neutralized — 
not,  be  it  remembered,  by  the  legal  votes  of  those  who  differed  from  you 
in  judgment, — but  by  the  votes  of  those  who  had  no  pretence  of  claim  to 
the  franchise,  and  by  votes  placed  in  the  ballot-boxes  without  even  the 
formality  of  persons  casting  them  !  You  went  up  from  your  business  and 
your  homes.  You  took  time  in  the  midst  of  engrossing  cares,  to  exercise 
the  right  of  the  franchise.  And  then,  when  all  the  other  outrages  of  the 
day  had  been  endured,  you  found,  so  far  as  the  declared  result  was  con¬ 
cerned,  that  you  might  as  well  have  stayed  from  the  polls,  or  have  cast 
your  ballots  to  the  winds.  To  crown  all,  your  ballots  themselves  were 
belied  and  miscounted,  and  what  was  announced  as  an  election,  and  you 
had  treated  as  a  matter  of  good  faith,  was  turned  into  a  shameless  farce. 
You  found,  in  short,  that  by  means  of  treachery  and  fraud  you  had  been 
made  to  play  the  apparent  part  of  imbeciles  and  fools.  I  don't  wonder  that 
when  the  hand  of  villiany  so  smote  you  in  the  face,  you  flushed  with  the 
sense  of  personal  indignation.  [Applause.] 

But,  fellow-citizens,  unless  I  misjudge  the  hour,  your  protest  to-night 
goes  deeper  than  feelings  of  personal  resentment.  I  take  it  that  you 
would  feel  called  to  express  your  disapproval  of  such  wrong-doing  though 
it  had  not  existed  as  a  direct  insult  to  yourselves.  I  confidently  trust  that 
at  sight  of  such  fraud  perpetrated  anywhere,  you  would  be  moved  to  earn¬ 
est  opposition.  He  surely  has  but  a  paltry  estimate  of  citizenship,  who 
does  not  realize  that  it  belongs  to  him  to  bear  witness  against  fraud  as 


5 


fraud,  no  matter  whether  it  touch  him  personally  or  not.  Is  it  not,  my 
friends,  one  distinguishing  feature  of  sound  civilization,  not  to  say  religion, 
that  under  it  men  sometimes  take  abstract  views  and  own  allegiance  to 
right  as  right?  I  would  wish  it  distinctly  understood,  therefore,  by  both 
the  city  and  the  country,  that  we  are  not  here  to-night  simply  because  of 
personal  grievance.  Let  it  rather  go  forth  that  we  are  here  because  a 
gigantic  wrong  has  been  consummated,  and  because,  on  that  account, 
aside  from,  and  in  addition  to,  personal  resentment,  we  are  constrained  to 
make  our  protest.  Let  it  be  understood  that  this  issue  has  moral  fearings 
which  are  independent  of  everything  save  the  sheer  iniquity  which  has 
been  perpetrated  in  our  midst.  For  my  own  part,  I  would  speak  and 
work  against  fraud  in  itself  considered,  and  with  equal  earnestness,  let  me 
add,  whether  it  be  found  on  the  one  side  or  the  other.  [Loud  applause.] 
Party  may  be  but  an  honest  difference  of  judgment  between  good  men. 
City -charters  and  general  incorporation  acts  may  be  but  temporary 
expedients.  But,  fellow-citizens,  the  nature  of  right,  whether  in  private 
or  public  affairs  is  eternal,  and  demands  the  absolute  fealty  of  every  soul. 
God  speed  the  day,  then,  when  the  public  conscience  shall  be  so  quickened 
that  every  official  and  every  measure  and  every  party  shall  alike  be  held 
to  moral  accountability,  and  judged  without  fear  or  favor.  God  speed  the 
day  when  the  people  shall  assert  their  sovereignty  by  searching  politics, 
both  municipal  and  national,  as  with  the  candle  of  the  Lord,  and  by 
demanding  the  putting  away  of  whatever  baseness  is  therein  discovered. 
[Applause.]  Aye,  if  wrong-doing  should  anywhere  receive  special 
reprobation  and  punishment,  it  is  when  it  is  found  in  the  ranks  of  those 
who  claim  to  be  the  preeminent  conservators  of  purity  and  law.  For 
theirs  is  not  only  the  crime  of  profaneness,  it  is  hypocritical  blasphemy 
against  uprightness  itself,  and  ought  scarce  to  be  forgiven  either  in  this  life 
or  the  life  to  come.  I  repeat,  then,  that  we  are  here  to-night  to  bear  our 
impartial  protest  against  the  wrong  which  we  know  was  done  on  that  “Black 
Friday5’  of  April  23d.  We  are  here  to  say  to  individuals  and  committees 
and  associations  and  courts,  “  In  the  name  of  the  people,  make  thorough 
work  of  it.  Hunt  the  crime  to  its  source.  And  whether  it  be  traced  to 
the  gutter  or  the  mansion;  to  the  lurking-place  of  the  outcast  or  the  office 
of  authority;  to  those  who  voted  for  the  incorporation  act  or  those  who 
voted  against  it;  the  crime  as  crime  shall  receive  our  unqualified  condemna¬ 
tion,  and  its  punishment  our  unhesitating  approval.55  We  are  here  to  warn 
the  wrongdoer,  whoever  he  is  and  wherever  he  is,  that  the  honest  people 
of  the  city  are  against  him,  and  that,  so  far  as  in  them  lies,  he  shall  be 
brought  to  deserved  judgment.  [Renewed  applause.] 

Still,  fellow-citizens,  there  are  considerations  touching  this  crisis  that  is 
upon  us,  which  are  of  yet  graver  import  and  which  demand  yet  more  earn¬ 
est  reflection.  It  undoubtedly  were  enough  to  call  us  together  in  our  pres¬ 
ent  attitude,  though  the  emergency  was  one  whose  evil?  were  simply  such 
as  have  already  been  set  forth.  But,  in  actual  fact,  the  evils  to  be  opposed 
are  of  a  more  serious  sort.  They  are  evils  which  possess  a  germinant  power. 
They  are  evils  which  peculiarly  tend  to  perpetuate  and  enlarge  themselves. 
They  are  evils  which  to-day  threatening  the  foundations  of  the  public  good, 
will  at  no  distant  day,  provided  they  go  unchecked,  destroy  the  whole 


6 


structure  of  social  and  governmental  well-being.  Yet  believe  me,  friends,  I 
am  no  alarmist.  I  have  lived  long  enough  to  learn  that,  in  public  affairs, 
many  a  cry  of  mortal  danger  is  but  the  cry  of  those  who  would  make  the 
false  affright  the  means  of  accomplishing  their  own  selfish  ends.  If  we 
credited  every  assertion  of  danger,  we  should  long  ago  have  come  to  believe 
that  liberalism  and  toryism,  republicanism  and  democracy,  centralization 
of  power  and  diffusion  of  power,  were  successive  pivots  on  which  must  turn 
decisively  the  gates  of  a  people's  destiny.  Whereas,  through  a  hundred 
such  crises  the  nation  has  already  passed  in  alternating  preference,  and 
received  no  fatal  detriment.  No  American  community,  therefore, — cer¬ 
tainly  no  such  community  as  is  represented  here  to-night — is  to  be  carried 
away  by  off-hand  alarms.  Yet,  look  with  me  for  a  moment,  and  see  if  in 
our  municipal  affairs,  and  in  wider  affairs  too  so  far  as  this  city  controls 
them,  the  supreme  peril  has  not  at  last  and  in  truth  overtaken  us.  I  spoke 
in  the  opening  of  these  remarks  of  the  virtual  compact  between  man  and 
man,  and  between  all  parts  of  the  community,  which  was  involved  in  the 
very  idea  of  the  elective  procedure.  I  said  that  a  personal  affront  was  put 
upon  every  legal  voter  who  went  to  the  polls,  only  to  find,  in  the  end,  that 
his  ballot  had  been  neutralized  by  treachery  and  fraud.  Well!  See  now 
what  else  and  what  more  is  true.  See  how  the  personal  affront,  stinging 
as  it  is,  fades  into  nothingness  in  comparison  with  the  more  practical  and 
mightier  mischiefs  which  follow.  And  do  I  speak  now,  think  you,  of  the 
features  of  the  bill  of  1872,  on  which  Chicago  was  supposed  to  hold  an 
election?  Is  it  to  terms  of  office  improperly  extended,  and  fire  and  police 
departments  disorganized,  and  treasury  left  unguarded,  and  taxes  redoubled, 
and  the  city  gerrymandered  to  suit  the  new  regime,  that  I  refer  as  the  more 
practical  and  mightier  mischiefs  which  we  have  to  dread?  No,  fellow- 
citizens,  serious  as  are  such  possibilities,  there  are  mischiefs  which  out¬ 
weigh  them  all.  For  mark  you,  in  such  a  form  of  government  as  ours,  the 
mutual  compact  implied  and  sealed  in  the  elective  franchise  is  that  with 
which  everything  valuable  is  vitally  connected.  Profane  the  franchise,, 
therefore,  and  you  profane  the  very  shrine  of  your  welfare.  Let  the 
franchise  be  invaded  in  its  purity,  and  you  shake  to,  its  downfall  the 
whole  temple  of  public  and  private  prosperity.  Suffer  illegality  and  fraud 
to  reign  in  your  elections,  and  you  bid  speedy  farewell  to  both  rights  and 
enjoyments.  Let  me  illustrate. 

Suppose  a  community  to  be  associated  by  reason  of  common  interests. 
Of  necessity,  there  must  be  some  form  of  government.  Either  sheer  force 
will  hold  sway,  or  there  will  be  a  voluntary  adjustment  of  authority.  That 
adjustment  moreover,  in  case  it  be  made,  will  embody  a  greater  or  less 
degree  of  popular  sovereignty.  If  there  comes  to  be  a  king  on  the  throne, 
the  people  will  have  comparatively  little  direct  responsibility.  But  if  they 
decide  for  simple  self-government,  they  will  hold  direct  control,  only  de¬ 
puting  to  certain  chosen  ones  the  temporary  duty  of  administration  and 
specific  legislation.  Now,  in  the  latter  case,  it  is  evident,  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  plan,  that  there  must  be  some  convenient  and  trusted  method 
by  which  the  people’s  voice  may  be  heard  in  its  supremacy.  Hence 
comes  the  ballot.  Its  form  may  vary,  from  the  pebble-voting  of  the  half- 
civilized  up  to  the  folded  paper  which  speaks  in  printed  words  the  will  of 


% 


him  who  presents  it;  yet  it  is  the  ballot,  and  represents  the  majesty  of 
the  popular  will.  The  printed  slip,  aye,  the  rude  pebble,  becomes  in  such 
a  use  more  sacred  than  the  ruler's  sceptre  or  the  monarch’s  crown.  Do 
you  not  see,  then,  that  in  very  truth  it  were  a  less  offence  to  do  despite  to 
royalty  itself,  than  to  assail  the  trustworthiness  of  the  people’s  ballot?  Do 
you  not  see  that  the  ballot,  simple  though  it  be,  is  the  indispensable  con¬ 
dition  of  popular  government  ?  Is  it  not  clear,  that  deeper  down  than 
statutes,  and  more  fundamental  than  constitutions,  is  the  elective  franchise 
as  representing  the  power  that,  at  its  pleasure,  makes  and  unmakes  both 
statutes  and  constitutions?  Is  it  not  plainly  inevitable  that  every  interest, 
whether  of  good  order  or  property,  or  even  personal  safely,  depends  on 
the  absolute  inviolability  of  the  elective  franchise?  Does  it  not  appear  as 
manifestly  as  the  sun  at  noonday,  that  when  the  purity  of  that  franchise  is 
lost)  a  profound  distrust,  a  paralyzing  sense  of  insecurity,  must  pervade  all 
society?  Can  you  doubt  that  when  the  ballot  is  turned  into  a  mockery 
the  substance  of  self-government  is  wellnigh  gone?  So  true  is  it,  as  Jeffer¬ 
son  has  said,  that  “the  whole  art  of  government  is  the  art  of  being  honest.” 
[Applause.] 

I  am  disposed,  in  charity,  to  think  that  some  of  those  who  planned,  and 
many  of  those  who  practiced,  fraud  in  the  recent  election,  did  not  realize 
the  enormity  of  their  offence.  I  cannot  easily  persuade  myself  that  they 
understood  the  full  nature  of  their  act,  or  comprehended  the  interests  they 
imperiled.  Yet  their  act  itself  was  none  the  less  baleful.  It  matters  not 
whether  he  who  throws  the  torch  be  madman  or  fiend,  the  temple  is  in 
danger  of  conflagration.  It  makes  no  difference  whether  the  blow  be 
aimed  half  in  wantonness  or  wholly  in  malice,  the  pierced  heart  ceases  to 
beat.  No  man,  therefore,  can  overrate  the  seriousness  of  the  present  hour. 
He  who  considers  it  most  carefully  will,  I  am  sure,  be  moved  with  gravest 
apprehensions. 

And  now  the  final  question  comes — “What  is  the  further  demand  of  the 
crisis?”  The  danger  has  been  pointed  out.  The  protest  has  been  borne. 
What  is  the  remaining  duty?  Fellow-citizens,  the  remaining  duty  is  two¬ 
fold.  On  the  one  hand,  it  looks  backward,  and  says,  “An  outrage  has 
been  committed.  A  crime  against  Society  and  the  State  has  been  consum¬ 
mated.  The  tacit  compact  which  underlies  all  popular  government,  and 
the  open  statute  which  expresses  the  popular  judgment,  have  alike  been 
violated.  The  law  with  its  retributions  must  therefore  take  its  course. 
The  criminal  must  be  prosecuted.  The  guilty  must  be  made  to  suffer.” 
[Applause.]  Thus  much  you  owe,  good  friends,  not  only  to  the  protection 
of  the  ballot,  but  also,  I  may  say,  to  the  vindication  of  justice  itself.  Let 
it  once  be  understood  that,  through  your  indifference,  a  gross  infraction  of 
law  and  order,  such  as  recently  took  place  in  this  city,  can  go  unpunished, 
and  you  yourselves  strike  a  blow  at  the  supremacy  of  all  righteous  autho¬ 
rity.  You  virtually  tell  your  children,  and  the  rising  generation  at  large, 
that  any  crime  may  hope  to  escape  its  deserts.  You  certainly  give  them 
to  infer  that  crimes  against  the  elective  franchise  are  not  held  in  real  ab- 
horence  by  the  inhabitants  of  Chicago.  Indeed,  you  practically  encourage 
the  wrongdoer  to  repeat  the  offence  which  is  so  devoid  of  personal  peril. 
Accordingly,  without  the  least  vindictiveness;  nay,  in  part,  for  the  sake  of 


8 


genuine  mercy  to  the  depraved  and  tempted;  I  charge  you  to  invoke 
against  them  the  utmost  penalties  of  the  courts.  Restore  and  reenforce 
their  lost  or  wavering  integrity,  by  a  wholesome  fear  of  swift-coming  con¬ 
sequences.  Teach  all  men  that  though,  as  in  the  old  mythology,  justice 
has  feet  of  wool,  her  hands  are  of  iron,  and  that  there  is  woe  to  him  on 
whom  those  hands  are  laid.  [Loud  applause.]  Such,  I  judge,  is  the  dutv 
of  the  hour,  which  has  reference  to  the  past. 

Nor,  on  the  other  hand,  and  in  reference  to  the  future,  is  the  duty  less 
clear  and  imperative.  There,  the  rather,  the  held  of  endeavor  broadens 
and  the  urgencies  increase.  For,  above  all  things  else,  the  duty  of  the 
future  means  the  consecration  of  all  good  citizens,  man  by  man,  to  the 
more  active  support  of  good  government.  It  means  the  casting  off  of 
personal  indifference  and  the  substitution  therefor  of  personal  earnestness. 
It  means  the  rousing  of  each  legal  voter  to  that  jealousy  for  the  purity  of 
the  ballot,  which  is  born  of  the  intelligent  conviction  that  a  pure  ballot  is 
one  of  the  corner-stones  of  free  institutions.  Shame  to  the  citizen  who 
rests  content  when  fraudulent  voting  is  practised  !  Shame  to  the  citizen 
who  foregoes  his  own  prerogative  and  does  not  vote  at  all !  Duty  bids 
every  man  to  be  faithful  in  his  own  person. 

And  thereafter,  fellow-citizens,  fidelity  to  the  good  cause  means  organiza¬ 
tion  also.  It  means — and  this  I  emphasize — it  means  Citizen’s  Leagues  in 
every  ward  in  the  city.  It  means  a  central  committee,  which  shall  be  com¬ 
posed  of  delegates  from  the  several  ward  organizations.  It  means,  in  short, 
the  brains  and  hearts  and  hands  of  the  city,  from  every  class  and  color  and 
sect  and  party  and  nationality,  combined  in  the  supreme  purpose  of  pro¬ 
tecting  the  elective  franchise.  [Great  applause.]  I  pray  you  go  not  from  this 
hall  till  you  have  taken  all  possible  steps  toward  such  an  immediate  result. 

Yet  I  have  heard  good  men,  within  these  last  few  days,  say  “It  is  of  no 
use.  We  are  doomed  to  be  betrayed  in  every  attempt.  The  dishonest 
elements  are  in  power,  and  it  is  vain  to  combat  them.  Let  it  go,  and 
perhaps  revolution  will  some  day  bring  redress.”  Fellow -citizens  of 
Chicago,  the  attempt  at  present  redress  is  of  exceeding  use.  Taken  at  the 
very  least,  it  is  the  doing  of  duty.  Taken  at  any  just  appraisal,  it  is  the 
achieving  of  magnificent  success.  Let  the  mass  of  our  law-abiding  citizens 
undertake  the  work  in  earnest;  let  them,  laying  aside  divisive  and  petty 
issues,  stand  shoulder  to  shoulder;  let  them  enlist  not  for  a  day,  or  a  week, 
or  a  month,  or  a  year,  but  for  the  war,  for  life;  and  the  reign  of  political 
fraud  will  speedily  be  over.  Let  the  people  put  themselves  permanently 
in  battle-array,  and  even  our  municipal  affairs  can  again  be  made  decent 
and  pure.  [Applause.] 

Hail,  then,  to  that  better  day.  Hail  to  the  good  name  of  our  city  re¬ 
vindicated  before  the  world.  Hail  to  the  ballot  purified  and  protected. 
Hail  to  the  foundations  of  civic  prosperity  secured  against  future  assault. 
Flail  to  the  time  when,  through  united  effort  and  the  blessing  of  Al¬ 
mighty  God,  “our  officers  shall  indeed  be  peace,  and  our  exactors  right¬ 
eousness.”  Hail  to  the  defeat  of  falsehood  and  the  triumph  of  eternal 
truth!  [Loud  and  continued  applause.] 

The  Resolutions  were  then  put,  and  carried  by  a  unanimous  vote. 


OF  THE 


AJNJd  THE 


PRINCIPAL  SECTIONS 

FEOM  THE 

Illinois  Statutes  Regulating  Elections. 


For  the  purpose  of  protection  to  the  elective  franchise, 
and  in  order  to  secure  the  selection  of  proper  men  for  our 
municipal  and  county  administration,  and  believing  that  to 
secure  these  ends,  united  and  organized  action  is  necessary  ; 

We,  Citizens  and  Voters  in  the  20th  Ward  of  the  City 
of  Chicago,  have  formed  this  Club,  and  for  its  government  have 
established  this 

CONSTITUTION. 

ART.  I.  §  1.  The  name  of  this  Club  shall  be  “The  20TH 
Ward  Citizens’  Club.” 

§  2.  The  general  purposes  of  this  Club  shall  be  those  set  forth 
in  the  Preamble  to  this  Constitution,  employing  such  means  to 
execute  those  purposes  as  this  Club  may  from  time  to  time  adopt. 

ART.  II.  §  1.  The  Officers  of  this  Club  shall  consist  of 
a  President,  five  Vice-Presidents,  (one  from  each  precinct,)  a 
Secretary,  and  Treasurer,  to  be  elected  by  open  vote  at  the 
first  regular  meeting  of  the  Club,  whose  term  of  office  shall  be 
for  the  period  of  one  year,  respectively,  from  the  time  of  their 
election,  or  until  their  successors  are  provided. 

§  2.  The  President  shall  preside  at  all  regular  meetings  of 
the  Club,  and  shall  perform  all  the  duties  ordinarily  incident  to 
the  office.  / 


2 


CONSTITUTION. 


§  3.  A  Vice-President  shall,  in  the  absence  of  the  President, 
preside  at  all  regular  meetings,  and  perform  all  the  duties  which 
would  otherwise  be  incumbent  upon  the  President. 

§  4.  The  Secretary  shall  have  custody  of  the  books,  papers, 
and  documents  of  the  Club,  and  shall  keep  full  and  correct 
records  of  its  proceedings. 

§  5.  The  Treasurer  shall  receive  the  moneys  of  the  Club; 
from  time  to  time  disburse  the  same  as  may  be  required,  keeping 
full  and  correct  accounts  of  all  such  moneys  received  and  dis¬ 
bursed  by  him. 

ART.  III.  §  1.  At  the  first  meeting  of  this  Club  there 
shall  be  an  Executive  Committee  selected,  composed  of  eighteen 
persons  in  the  Ward,  the  President,  Secretary,  and  Treasurer 
beino;  members  ex-officio. 

o 

§  2.  The  Executive  Committee  thus  appointed,  shall  con¬ 
tinue  in  office  for  the  period  of  one  year  from  the  time  of  their 
selection,  or  until  their  successors  are  provided,  and  shall  have 
power  to  fill  vacancies  in  their  number,  it  being  understood,  in 
their  discretion,  that  failure  to  attend  two  successive  and  duly 
notified  meetings  of  the  Committee,  is  equivalent  to  a  resignation. 

§  3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Committee  to 
provide  for  the  financial  and  executive  interests  of  the  Club,  to 
pass  upon  names  proposed  for  membership,  arid  to  call  meetings 
of  the  Club  whenever  they  deem  it  necessary.  It  shall  also  be 
the  duty  of  the  Committee  to  appoint,  at  least  ten  days  before 
each  election,  and  from  the  membership  of  the  Club,  a  suitable 
person,  who  shall  have  general  direction  of  such  members  as 
have  volunteered  to  render  special  service  on  days  of  election. 
The  Committee  shall  likewise  see  to  it  that,  under  the  direction 
of  the  person  so  appointed,  a  sufficient  number  of  special-service 
members  are  at  each  polling- place,  from  the  opening  to  the 
closing  of  the  polls,  in  order  that  all  the  provisions  of  the  statute 
concerning  elections  may  be  strictly  enforced. 

ART.  IV.  Any  citizen  or  legal  voter  of  this  Ward,  irre¬ 
spective  of  party  affiliation,  may  become  a  member  of  this  Club, 
upon  being  approved  by  the  Executive  Committee,  and  signing 
this  Constitution. 

ART.  V.  This  Constitution  may  be  altered  or  amended  by 
a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  of  this  Club  present  at  a 
regular  meeting.  But  before  such  alteration  or  amendment,  notice 
thereof  shall  have  been  given,  in  writing,  at  a  previous  meeting, 
which  notice  shall  set  forth  the  proposed  alteration  or  amendment. 

To  this  Constitution  we  have  subscribed  our  names,  thereby 
adopting  and  approving  the  objects  herein  declared,  and  pledging 
ourselves  to  aid  in  carrying  them  out. 


3 


EXTRACTS 

From  the  Illinois  Statutes  Regulating  Elections. 


JUDGES  AND  CLERKS  OF  ELECTION. 

36.  Vacancies  filled.]  §  36.  If,  at 
the  time  for  the  opening  of  any  election, 
any  person  appointed  or  constituted  a  judge 
of  election  shall  not  be  present,  or  will  not 
act  or  take  the  oath  to  act  in  such  capacity, 
the  judge  or  judges  present  may  appoint 
some  other  qualified  elector  to  act  in  his 
place.  If  there  be  no  judge  of  election 
present,  or  he  refuses  to  act,  such  electors 
of  the  precinct  or  district  as  may  then  be 
present  at  the  place  of  election,  may  fill 
the  places  of  such  judges  by  election  from 
their  number.  The  judges  so  appointed 
shall  have  the  same  power  and  be  subject 
to  the  same  penalties  as  other  judges  of 
election. 

37.  Clerks  of  election.]  §37:  The 
judges  of  election  shall  choose  two  persons, 
having  similar  qualifications  with  them¬ 
selves,  to  act  as  clerks  of  election,  who 
may  continue  to  act  as  such  during  the 
pleasure  of  the  judges. 

OATH  OF  JUDGES  AND  CLERKS  OF 
ELECTION. 

38.  Oath.]  §38.  Previous  to  any  vote 
being  taken,  the  judges  and  clerks  of  the 
election  shall  severally  take  an  oath  or 
affirmation,  in  the  following  form  to-wit : 

I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm,  as  the 
case  may  be, )  that  I  will  support  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  and  the  con¬ 
stitution  of  the  state  of  Illinois,  and  that  I 
will  faithfully  discharge  the  duties  of  the 
office  of  judge  of  election  (or  clerk  as  the 
case  may  be, )  according  to  the  best  of  my 
ability. 

39.  By  whom  administered.]  §  39. 
In  case  there  shall  be  no  judge  or  justice 
of  the  peace  present  at  the  opening  of  the 
election,  or  in  case  such  judge  or  justice 
shall  be  appointed  a  judge  or  clerk  of  elec¬ 
tion,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  judges  of  the 
election  to  administer  the  oath  or  affirma¬ 
tion  to  each  other,  and  to  the  clerks  of  the 
election ;  and  the  person  administering 
such  oath  or  affirmation,  shall  cause  an 
entry  thereof  to  be  made  and  subscribed 
by  him,  and  prefixed  to  each  poll  book. 


BALLOT  BOXES  AND  POLL  BOOKS. 

9 

40.  Ballot  boxes.]  §40.  The  county 
board  shall  provide  a  sufficient  number  of 
ballot  boxes,  with  secure  locks  and  keys 
at  the  expence  of  the  county,  for  the  several 
precincts  and  districts.  There  shall  be  an 
opening  in  the  lid  of  each  box  not  larger 
than  is  sufficient  to  admit  a  single  closed 
ballot  to  be  inserted  therein  at  one  time, 
through  which  each  ballot  voted  shall  be 
put  into  the  box. 

42.  Blanks,  poll  books,  etc.]  §  42. 
The  county  clerk  shall  provide,  at  the  ex¬ 
pence  of  the  county,  proper  blanks,  poll 
books  and  other  necessary  election  blanks 
for  each  precinct  and  district  in  his  county, 
and  cause  a  suitable  number  thereof  to  be 
delivered  to  the  judges  of  election,  at  least 
ten  days  before  any  election  is  to  be  held. 

CONSTABLES  APPOINTED  TO  ATTEND 
ELECTIONS — ORDER. 

43.  County  board,  or  judges,  may 
appoint.]  §  43.  The  county  board  may 
appoint  one  or  more  constables  to  attend 
each  place  of  holding  elections,  and  pre¬ 
serve  order  during  the  election  ;  if  no  con¬ 
stable  is  appointed  by  the  county  board 
to  attend  any  place  of  holding  election,  or 
if  others  shall  be  necessary  to  preserve 
order,  the  judges  of  election  may  appoint 
one  or  more  constables  for  that  purpose. 

45.  Suppressing  riot,  etc. — arrest.] 
§  45.  Any  constable  attending  such  elec¬ 
tion  may  call  to  his  aid  a  sufficient  number 
of  citizens  to  arrest  any  disorderly  person 
or  suppress  any  riot  or  disorder  during  the 
election.  Whoever  conducts  himself  in  a 
riotous  or  disorderly  manner  at  any  elec¬ 
tion,  and  persists  in  such  conduct  after 
being  warned  to  desist,  may  be  arrested 
without  warrant. 

48.  Time  of  opening  and  closing 
polls.]  §  48.  The  polls  shall  be  opened 
at  the  hour  of  eight  o’clock  in  the  morning 
and  continued  open  until  seven  o’clock  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  same  day,  at  which 
time  the  polls  shall  be  closed ;  but  if  the 
judges  shall  not  attend  at  the  hour  of  eight 
o’clock  in  the  morning,  or  if  it  shall  be 


4 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  ILLINOIS  STATUTES. 


necessary  for  the  electors  present  to  appoint 
judges  to  conduct  the  election,  as  herein 
before  prescribed,  the  polls  may,  in  that 
case,  be  opened  at  any  hour  before  the  time 
for  closing  the  same  shall  arrive,  as  the 
case  may  require. 

49.  Proclamation.]  §49.  Upon  open¬ 
ing  the  polls  one  of  the  clerks  or  judges  of 
election  shall  make  proclamation  of  the 
same,  and  at  least  thirty  minutes  before 
the  closing  of  the  polls,  proclamation  shall 
be  made  in  like  manner  that  the  polls  will 
be  closed  in  half  an  hour. 

50.  Ballot  box  publicly  exhibited, 
etc. — locked — keys.]  '  §  50.  Before 
any  ballot  shall  be  deposited  in  the  ballot 
box,  the  ballot  box  shall  be  publicly  opened 
and  exhibited,  and  the  judges  and  clerks 
shall  see  that  no  ballot  is  in  such  box  ;  after 
which  the  box  shall  be  locked  and  the  key 
delivered  to  one  of  the  judges,  and  shall 
not  be  again  opened  until  the  close  of  the 
polls. 

51.  Poll  lists — how  kept.]  §  51. 
Each  clerk  of  the  election  shall  keep  a 
poll  list,  which  shall  contain  a  column 
headed  “number,”  and  another  headed 
“names  of  voters.”  The  name  of  each 
elector  voting  shall  be  entered  upon  each 
of  the  poll  books  by  the  clerks,  in  regular 
succession,  under  the  proper  headings,  and 
the  number  of  such  voter  placed  opposite 
his  name  in  the  column  headed  “number.” 

52.  Ballots.]  §  52.  The  manner  of 
voting  shall  be  by  ballot.  The  ballot  shall 
be  printed  or  written,  or  partly  printed  and- 
partly  written,  upon  plain  paper,  with  the 
name  of  each  candidate  voted  for,  and  the 
title  of  the  offices.  When  the  ballot  is 
printed,  the  same  shall  be  printed  upon 
plain  paper,  in  plain  type,  in  straight  lines, 
with  a  blank  space  below  each  name,  of  a 
width  not  less  than  equal  to  the  width  of 
the  line  in  which  the  name  is  printed. 
[See  Const.,  art.  7,  §  2. 

53.  Form  of  ballot.]  §  53.  The 
names  of  all  candidates  for  which  the  elec¬ 
tor  intends  to  vote  shall  be  written  or 
printed  upon  the  same  ballot,  and  the 
office  to  which  he  desii'es  each  to  be  elected 
shall  be  designated  upon  the  ballot. 

54.  Form  of  cumulative  ballot.] 
§  54.  In  voting  for  representatives  to  the 
general  assembly,  if  the  voter  intends  to 
give  more  than  one  vote  to  any  candidate, 
he  shall  express  his  intention  on  the  face  of 
the  ballot,  in  words  or  figures,  which  may 
be  done  in  either  of  the  following  forms : 
A  B,  C  D,  E  F,  which  shall  be  held  to 
mean  one  vote  for  each  candidate  named ; 


or  A  B  1  ]/z  votes,  C  D  \]/2  votes;  or  A  B 
2  votes,  C  D  1  vote ;  or  A  B  3  votes. 
[See  Const.,  art  4,  §  7,  8. 

55.  Manner  of  receiving  and  de¬ 
positing  ballot.]  §  55.  The  ballot  shall 
be  folded  by  the  voter  and  delivered  to  one 
of  the  judges  of  election ;  and  if  the  judges 
be  satisfied  that  the  person  offering  the 
vote  is  a  legal  voter,  the  clerks  of  election 
shall  enter  the  name  of  the  voter,  and  his 
number,  under  the  proper  heading  in  the 
poll  books,  and  the  judges  shall  endorse 
on  the  back  of  the  ticket  offered  the  num¬ 
ber  corresponding  with  the  number  of  the 
voter  on  the  poll  books,  and  shall  immedi¬ 
ately  put  the  ticket  into  the  ballot  box. 

56.  No  adjournment  or  recess.] 
§  56.  After  the  opening  of  the  polls  no 
adjournment  shall  be  had,  nor  shall  any 
recess  be  taken,  until  all  the  votes  cast  at 
such  election  shall  have  been  counted  and 
the  result  publicly  announced. 

57.  Canvass  of  votes.]  §  57.  Imme¬ 
diately  upon  closing  the  polls,  the  judges 
shall  proceed  to  canvass  the  votes  polled. 
They  shall  first  count  the  whole  number 
of  ballots  in  the  box.  If  the  ballots  shall 
be  found  to  exceed  the  number  of  names 
entered  on  each  of  the  poll  lists,  they  shall 
reject  the  ballots,  if  any  be  found  upon 
which  no  number  is  marked ;  if  the  num¬ 
ber  of  ballots  still  exceeds  the  number  of 
names  entered  on  each  of  the  poll  lists, 
they  shall  be  replaced  in  the  box  and  the 
box  closed  and  well  shaken  and  again 
opened,  and  one  of  the  judges  shall  pub¬ 
licly  draw  out  and  destroy  so  many  ballots, 
unopened,  as  shall  be  equal  to  such  excess  ; 
and  the  ballot  or  poll  lists  agreeing,  or  be¬ 
ing  made  to  agree,  the  board  shall  proceed 
to  count,  and  estimate  and  publish  the 
votes ;  and  when  the  judges  of  election 
shall  open  and  read  the  tickets,  each  clerk 
shall  carefully  mark  down  upon  the  tally- 
list  the  votes  each  candidate  receives,  in  a 
separate  column  prepared  for  that  purpose, 
with  the  name  of  such  candidate  at  the 
head  of  such  column,  and  the  office,  desig¬ 
nated  by  the  votes,  such  candidate  shall 
fill. 

58.  Irregular  ballots.]  §  58.  If 
more  persons  are  designated  for  any  office 
than  there  are  candidates  to  be  elected,  or 
if  more  votes  or  parts  of  votes  are  desig¬ 
nated  on  any  ballot  for  representatives  than 
the  voter  is  entitled  to  cast,  such  part  of  the 
ticket  shall  not  be  counted  for  either  of  the 
candidates. 

59.  Ballots  strung  and  returned 
— when  destroyed.]  §  59.  All  the 
ballots  counted  by  the  judges  of  election 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  ILLINOIS  STATUTES. 


5 


shall,  after  being  read,  be  strung  upon  a 
strong  thread  or  twine,  in  the  order  in 
which  they  have  been  read,  and  shall  then 
be  carefully  enveloped  and  sealed  up  by 
judges,  who  shall  direct  the  same  to  the 
officer  to  whom  by  law  they  are  required 
to  return  the  poll  books,  and  shall  be  de- 
livered,  together  with  the  poll  books,  to 
such  officer,  who  shall  carefully  preserve 
said  ballots  for  six  months,  and  at  the  ex¬ 
piration  of  that  time  shall  destroy  them  by 
burning,  without  the  package  being  pre¬ 
viously  opened  :  Provided ,  if  any  contest  of 
election  shall  be  pending  at  such  time  in 
which  such  ballots  may  be  required  as  evi¬ 
dence,  the  same  shall  not  be  destroyed  till 
such  contest  is  finally  determined. 

61.  Form  of  return.]  §  6i.  When 
the  votes  shall  have  been  examined  and 
counted,  the  clerks  shall  set  down  in  their 
poll  books  the  name  of  every  person  voted 
for,  written  at  full  length,  the  office  for 
which  such  person  received  such  votes,  and 
the  number  he  did  receive,  the  number 
being  expressed  in  words  at  full  length ; 
such  entry  to  be  made,  as  nearly  as  circum¬ 
stances  will  admit,  in  the  following  form, 
to-wit : 

At  an  election  held  at . ,  in  the 

county  of . ,  and  state  of  Illinois, 

on  the . day . ,  in  the  year  of  our 

Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and . . .  . , 
the  following  named  persons  received  the 
number  of  votes  annexed  to  their  respective 
names,  for  the  following  described  offices, 
to-wit:  (name  of  candidate)  had  (number 
of  votes)  for  (title  of  office),  (and  in  the 
same  manner  for  any  other  persons  voted 
for.)  Certified  by  us, 

AB,  ) 

CD,  r  Judges  of  election. 

EF,  ) 

Atte  t .  G  H,  |  derj,s  of  ejection ' 

62.  Returns  to  be  delivered  to 

COUNTY  CLERK — CANVASS,  ETC.]  §  62. 
Such  certificate,  together  with  one  of  the 
lists  of  voters  and  one  of  the  tally  papers, 
having  been  carefully  enveloped  and  sealed 
up,  shall  be  put  into  the  hands  of  one  of 
the  judges  or  board  of  election,  who  shall, 
within  four  days  thereafter,  deliver  the  same 
to  the  county  clerk  or  his  deputy,  at  the 
office  of  said  county  clerk;  and  when  re¬ 
ceived,  such  clerk  or  deputy  shall  proceed 
to  open,  canvass  and  publish  the  return 
from  each  precinct  or  election  district,  as 
provided  by  law.  [See  §  71. 

64.  Challengers.]  §64.  The  judges 
of  election  shall  allow  at  least  one,  and 
not  more  than  two  legal  voters  of  each 


party  to  the  contest,  to  be  chosen  by  the 
parties  respectively,  into  the  room  where 
the  election  is  held,  to  act  as  challengers 
of  voters  at  such  election;  and  such  chal¬ 
lengers  may  remain  with  the  board  of  elec¬ 
tion  until  the  votes  are  all  canvassed  and 
the  result  declared. 

QUALIFICATION  OF  VOTERS. 

65.  Who  may  vote.]  §  65.  Every 
person  having  resided  in  this  state  one 
year,  in  the  county  ninety  days,  and  in  the 
election  district  thirty  days  next  preceding 
any  election  therein,  who  was  an  elector 
in  this  state  on  the  first  day  of  April,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  1848,  or  obtained  a 
certificate  of  naturalization  before  any  court 
of  record  in  this  state  prior  to  the  first  day 
of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1870, 
or  who  shall  be  a  male  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  above  the  age  of  twenty-one  years, 
shall  be  entitled  to  vote  at  such  election. 
[See  Const.,  art.  7,  §  1. 

66.  Residence.]  §  66.  A  permanent 
abode  is  necessary  to  constitute  a  residence 
within  the  meaning  of  the  preceding  section. 

67.  Affidavit  of  qualification.] 
§  67.  Whenever,  at  any  general  or  special 
election,  in  any  precinct,  district,  city,  vil¬ 
lage,  town  or  ward,  any  person  offering  to 
vote  is  not  personally  known  to  the  judges 
of  election  to  have  the  qualifications  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  two  preceding  sections,  if  his 
vote  is  challenged  by  a  legal  voter  at  such 
election,  he  shall  make  and  subscribe  an 
affidavit,  in  the  following  form,  which  shall 
be  retained  by  the  judges  of  election,  and 
returned  by  them  with  the  poll  books : 

State  of  Illinois, 

County  of  Cook. 

I, . . ,  do  solemnly  swear  (or 

affirm)  that  I  am  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States,  (or,  “that  I  was  an  elector  on  the 
first  day  of  April,  A.D.  1848”  or,  “that 
I  obtained-  a  certificate  of  naturalization 
befoi'e  a  court  of  record  in  this  state  prior 
to  the  first  day  of  January,  A.D.  1S70,” 
as  the  case  may  be,)  that  I  have  resided 
in  this  state  one  year,  in  this  county  ninety 
days,  and  in  this  election  district  thirty 
days  next  preceding  this  election ;  that  I 
now  reside  at  (here  give  the  particular 
house  or  place  of  residence,  and,  if  in  a 
town  or  city,  the  street  and  number,)  in 
this  election  district ;  that  I  am  twenty-one 
years  of  age,  and  have  not  voted  at  this 
election :  so  help  me  God,  (or,  “  this  1  do 
solemnly  and  sincerely  affirm,”  as  the  case 
may  be.) 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me,  this 
. day  of . ,  A.D.  18. . . 


6 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  ILLINOIS  STATUTES. 


68.  Affidavit  of  witness.]  §68. 
In  addition  to  such  an  affidavit,  the  person 
so  challenged  shall  produce  a  witness,  per¬ 
sonally  known  to  the  judges  of  election, 
and  resident  in  the  precinct  or  district,  or 
who  shall  he  proved  by  some  legal  voter 
of  such  precinct  or  -district,  known  to  the 
judges  to  be  such,  who  shall  take  the  oath 
following,  viz. : 

I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I 
am  a  resident  of  this  election  precinct  (or 
district, )  and  entitled  to  vote  at  this  elec¬ 
tion,  and  that  I  have  been  a  resident  herein 
for  one  year  last  passed,  and  am  well  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  person  whose  vote  is 
now  offered ;  that  he  is  an  actual  and  bona 
fide  resident  of  this  election  precinct  (or 
district,)  and  has  resided  herein  thirty  days, 
and,  as  I  verily  believe,  in  this  county 
ninety  days,  and  in  this  state  one  year  next 
preceding  this  election. 

6g.  Who  may  administer  oath.] 
§  69.  The  oath,  in  each  case,  may  be 
administered  by  either  of  the  judges  of 
election,  or  by  any  officer,  resident  in  the 
precinct  or  district,  authorized  by  law  to 
administer  oaths. 

70.  Convicts  —  disqualification.] 
§  70.  No  person  who  has  been  legally  con¬ 
victed  of  any  crime,  the  punishment  of 
which  is  confinement  in  penitentiary,  shall 
be  permitted  to  vote  at  any  election,  unless 
he  shall  be  restored  to  the  right  to  vote  by 
pardon.  [See  Const.,  art.  7,  §  7. 

OFFENSES  AND  PENALTIES. 

80.  False  swearing.]  §  80.  If  any 
person  whose  vote  is  challenged,  or  any 
witness  sworn  under  the  provisions  of  this 
act,  shall  knowingly,  wilfully  and  corruptly, 
swear  falsely,  he  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of 
perjury,  and  on  conviction  thereof  shall  be 
punished  accordingly. 

81.  Illegal  voting.]  §  81.  Whoever 
unlawfully  votes  more  than  once  at  any 
election,  or  offers  to  vote  after  having  once 
voted  at  such  election,  or  knowing  that  he 
is  not  a  qualified  voter  at  an  election,  wil¬ 
fully  votes  at  such  election,  shall,  on  con¬ 
viction  thereof,  be  fined  in  a  sum  not  ex¬ 
ceeding  $1000,  or  imprisoned  in  the  county 
jail  not  exceeding  one  year,  or  both,  in  the 
discretion  of  the  court. 

82.  Other  offenses.]  §  82.  Whoever 
wilfully  aids  or  abets  any  one  not  legally 
qualified  to  vote  at  an  election,  in  voting 
or  attempting  to  vote,  at  such  election  ;  or, 

2d.  Furnishes  an  elector  with  a  ticket 
or  ballot  informing  him  that  it  contains  a 
name  different  from  that  which  appears 


thereon,  with  intent  to  induce  him  to  vote 
contrary  to  his  inclinations ;  or, 

3d.  Fraudulently  or  deceitfully  changes 
a  ballot  of  an  elector,  with  intent  to  deprive 
such  elector  of  voting  for  such  person  as 
he  intended ;  or, 

4th.  Endeavors  to  procure  the  vote  of 
any  elector,  or  the  influence  of  any  person 
over  an  elector  at  any  election,  for  himself 
or  for  or  against  any  person,  by  means  of 
a  promise  of  a  favor,  or  by  means  of  vio¬ 
lence  or  threats  of  violence,  or  threats  of 
withdrawing  custom  or  dealing  in  business 
or  trade,  or  enforcing  the  payment  of  a 
debt,  or  bringing  a  suit,  or  criminal  pros¬ 
ecution,  or  any  other  threat  of  injury  to  be 
inflicted  by  him  or  his  means ;  or, 

5th.  By  offering  a  reward  or  bribe,  or 
by  treating  to  or  giving  spirituous,  malt, 
or  other  liquor,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
influences  or  attempts  to  influence  any  voter 
in  giving  or  withholding  his  vote  at  an 
election ;  or, 

6th.  By  bribery,  or  by  corrupt  or  unlaw¬ 
ful  means,  prevents  or  attempts  to  prevent 
any  voter  from  attending  or  voting  at  an 
election ;  or, 

7th.  Gives  or  offers  to  give  any  valuable 
thing  or  bribe  to  any  judge  or  cleik  of  elec¬ 
tion,  as  a  consideration  for  some  act  to  be 
done  or  omitted  to  be  done,  contrary  to  his 
official  duty,  in  relation  to  such  election, 
shall,  on  conviction  thereof,  be  fined  in  a 
sum  not  exceeding  $1000,  or  imprisoned  in 
the  county  jail  not  exceeding  one  year,  or 
both,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court. 

83.  Betting  on  election.]  §  85. 
Whoever  bets  or  wagers  any  money,  prop¬ 
erty  or  other  valuable  thing  upon  the  result 
of  an  election  which  may  be  held  under  the 
constitution  or  laws  of  this  state,  or  bets  or 
wagers  money,  property  or  other  valuable 
thing  upon  the  number  of  votes  which  may 
be  given  to  any  person  at  an  election,  or 
upon  who  will  receive  the  greatest  number 
of  votes  at  an  election:  or  agrees  to  pay  any 
other  person  any  money,  property  or  other 
valuable  thing,  in  the  event  that  an  election 
shall  result  in  one  way,  or  in  the  event  that 
any  person  shall  or  shall  not  be  elected, 
or  shall  receive  a  greater  number  of  votes 
than  others,  upon  conviction  thereof  he 
shall  be  fined  in  a  sum  not  exceeding 
$1000,  or  imprisoned  in  the  county  jail 
not  exceeding  one  year,  or  both,  in  the 
discretion  of  the  court.  [See  Crim.  Code, 
ch.  38,  p.  372,  §  132. 

86.  Offenses  of  judge  of  elec¬ 
tion.]  §  86.  If  any  judge  of  any  election 
shall  permit  a  person  to  vote  whose  vote 
is  challenged,  without  the  proof  required  in 
this  act ;  or, 


REGISTRATION  OF  ELECTORS. 


7 


2d.  Shall  knowingly  and  wilfully  permit 
a  person  to  testify  as  a  witness  contrary  to 
the  provisions  of  this  act ;  or, 

3d.  Shall  knowingly  permit  a  person  to 
vote  who  is  not  qualified  according  to  law ; 
or’ 

4th.  Shall  knowingly  receive  and  count 
more  than  one  vote  from  the  same  person 
at  the  same  election  for  the  same  office, 
except  as  allowed  by  law;  or, 

5th.  Shall  refuse  to  receive  the  vote  of 
a  qualified  elector  at  such  election,  who 
will  make  the  affidavit  and  proof  required 
by  this  act ;  or, 

6th.  Shall  be  guilty  of  any  fraud,  cor¬ 
ruption,  partiality  or  manifest  misbehavior; 
or, 

7th.  Shall  open  or  unfold  any  ballot 
when  the  same  is  presented  to  be  deposited 
in  the  ballot  box  ;  or, 


8th.  Shall  wilfully  neglect  to  perform 
any  of  the  duties  required  of  him  by  this 
act,  shall,  on  conviction  thereof,  be  fined 
in  a  sum  not  exceeding  $1000,  or  im¬ 
prisoned  in  the  county  jail  not  exceeding 
one  year,  or  both,  in  the  discretion  of  the 
court. 

89.  Neglect  of  duty  by  clerk.] 
§  89.  If  any  clerk  of  an  election  shall  wil¬ 
fully  neglect  to  perform  any  duty  required 
of  him  as  clerk  of  election,  or  shall  be 
guilty  of  fraud,  corruption  or  misbehavior 
as  such  clerk,  he  shall,  on  conviction,  be 
fined  in  a  sum  not  exceeding  $500,  or  im¬ 
prisoned  in  the  county  jail  not  exceeding 
six  months,  or  both,  in  the  discretion  of 
the  court. 


REGISTRATION. 

The  following  are  the  principal  provisions  relative  thereto : — 


REGISTRATION  OF  ELECTORS. 

AN  ACT  for  the  registry  of  electors  and  to  prevent 
fraudulent  voting.  [Approved  and  in  force 
February  15,  1865.  L.  1865,  p.  54. 

135.  Board  of  registration — Meet¬ 
ing — REGISTER.]  §  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the 
People  of  the  State  of  Illinois ,  represented  in 
the  General  Assembly,  That  the  persons 
authorized  by  law,  or  appointed  pursuant 
to  any  town  or  city  ordinance,  to  act  as 
judges  or  inspectors  of  elections  in  any 
town,  city  or  ward,  or  other  election  district 
or  precinct  in  this  state,  shall  constitute  a 
“board  of  registry,”  for  their  respective 
towns,  cities,  wards,  districts  or  precincts, 
and  shall  meet  on  Tuesday,  three  weeks 
preceding  any  state  election,  at  nine  o’clock 
A.M.,  and  proceed  to  make  a  list,  as  here¬ 
inafter  prescribed,  of  all  persons  qualified 
and  entitled  to  vote  at  the  ensuing  election 
in  the  election  district  of  which  tney  are 
judges  or  inspectors;  which  list,  when  com¬ 
pleted,  shall  constitute  and  be  known  as 
the  “register”  of  electors  of  said  election 
district.  [As  amended  by  act  approved 
March  27,  1874;  in  force  July  1,  1874.] 

136.  Manner  of  making  register, 
etc.— first  meeting.]  §2.  Said  regis- 

ers  shall  each  contain  a  list  of  the  persons 


so  qualified  and  entitled  to  vote  in  said 
election  district,  alphabetically  arranged 
according  to  their  respective  surnames,  so 
as  to  show,  in  one  column,  the  name  at  full 
length,  and  in  another  column,  in  cities, 
the  residence,  by  the  number  of  the  dwell¬ 
ing,  if  there  be  a  number,  and  the  name  of 
the  street  or  other  location  of  the  dwelling 
place  of  each  person.  It  shall  be  the  duty 
of  said  board  to  enter  in  said  lists  the 
names  of  all  persons  residing  in  their  elec¬ 
tion  district,  whose  name  appears  on  the 
poll  list  kept  in  said  district  at  the  last  pre¬ 
ceding  election  —  in  cities  the  number  of 
the  dwelling  and  the  name  of  the  street  or 
other  location,  if  the  same  shall  be  known 
to  or  can  be  ascertained  by  such  board — 
and  for  this  purpose  said  board  are  author¬ 
ized  to  take  from  the  office  in  which  they 
are  filed  the  poll  lists  made  and  filed  by 
the  judges  or  inspectors  of  such  district,  at 
the  election  held  next  prior  to  the  making 
of  such  register.  In  making  said  list,  the 
board  shall  enter  thereon,  in  addition  to 
the  names  on  the  poll  list,  the  names  of  all 
other  persons  who  are  well  known  to  them 
to  be  electors  in  said  district ;  and  the 
names  of  all  persons  on  the  poll  list  who 
have  died  or  removed  from  the  district 
shall  be  omitted  from  the  register. 


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a:  : :  v:t  =  a  e: : 


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aa  to  be  At  oriel  am  said  alp  baloet- 
al  At.  Amr  o erst a  si  recnirbog  bis 


oc.-  .  :s;  •  ;  sr .  •  •  :.;  :: 


:eer 


A  0  At  A  t  A  :  f.  A  A  t  A  A  A  A  - 

required  by  He  provisions  of  “bis  act  oc 

‘A  A  AAA  ./A  :  A  :  :A  A  -  A!  A  10  t 

bail  be  soHect  et  He  same  oetaib.es  roc 
refusing  o:>  give  aca.  Hrbrracicn.  or  tor 
HIseH  --o*  He  same,  xnd  HI  il .:  be 


subject  to  HideAgt. 


too  sjai 
ber  bv  ti 


ycsges 


or  tmsrectorsw  or  erHer  of  cheno.  or  bv 
other  elector  a  rose  one  looears  oc 
ilrtaoebcii  list. 

1 12.  AVT3.Y  >C  KEGB5TEK.  ®T  CIA 
—  :  -a  a:  a  a  ■'  :zi  —  7 

s  . 0  ctties.  every  elector,  it  tbe  o  a- 

a  a bicb  se  resides,  no  if  obe  House.  1: 
ac  .  0  :  :t-Aeo:  to.  ~  dob  be  resides 
10 a  ore  .  tbe  number  Here:  f  Ami 
clerks  :  tbe  tods.  in.  case  He^  men 

enter  a  He  it  trot  bite  oitm  of  He 

street  a  —bite.  Hi  elect :r  resides,.  no  He 
nmler  0  ease  He  b  rose.  IrtigAg  :r  tere- 

7T~  »-*"*"  t  -*  *~  j—  •"*  -  *  -  •»  ■  — *  ~  -  -  —  CT7  rr  —  4  p 

an  r:  lere.i.  Hen  He  beric  sbbl  erst  a  ‘A.t 


~  UL 


pod 


f.  Cl  i*l  111  2  H  cicCt.L  idilH  llC“1  _6  lcChv  r_. 

_  '”~OH  jh  |C.  v  ^  yy  m  ^  ;7  “  -x  _ 

^  ^  __  *  -  _  *  7-  j-r  r 

IH.  .-A  'M-Ic — ’rlir  HZ.  Z -z .  2LZ2  .  ^  ul&lTgSC,  Hj:I _  _t± 


'  .  a  :  — 

'  .  -  -  rood  be  .a  -  -  0 

•  •-  b:  HI  carte  bis  tore  ::  be  regbterei 
2  more  Hm  one  eietbon  dtstrict.  or  oH: 
'bid  ci :  a  bis  ~.me  to  be  reg  scerei.  into  ~- 
-  tc  Hit  be  is  not  a  : misled  voter  In  He 
Usenet  ’  tere  sito  rec  a~~  s  one,  .r  a  z 
-  toil  HI  el  -  oer-:m:e  sc."  registered  tco-c. 

*  p  9- 

i.txi  nj  t  er-on  tmt-ireg.  ilriimg  or  Heomg 
a  cer-OA  a  m—  mimec.  ta  ettne r  ot  si  t 
11 —  '•  e  0  me  bed.  He  esolt  md  e  e. 

0:0:.  :y  t  '  :  •  A-  .  " 

>r  cot  ■  ttn  tne  o ear.  _ Atenttom. 

Hlse  7 v  earing-  ber  tre  sitd  board  of  registm- 
bon  sbalb  be  Heated  oH  ami  corrtot 
ter  cry.  and.  :n  rcnviction.  pr.nisb.el  is 
aca  it  any  Ac  a  ter  or  o  Acer  tc  sacs 
■tard  sbad  aaaa  a:  bite  ny  of  He  000- 
’ .  sc  as  of  Hcs  act.  :r  :e  galley  of  ny  feci 

-t  -Of  AftAO  A  -  :  :  •  -  A 

be  sHill  :e  omesbeb  for  each  ami  every 
Hatc.  by  ao rs : ccnenc  a  He  state  orstc 
tor  Ate  .ess  ai~  one  year. 


